SAYREVILLE - On a cold January night 20 years ago, Nancy Noga left her part-time job at the Rag Shop store on Route 9 in Old Bridge to make the short walk to the Skytop Gardens apartment complex off Ernston Road where she lived with her father and stepmother.

The 17-year-old senior at Sayreville War Memorial High School never made it home.

Her frozen body was found days later by a man walking his dog in a wooded area behind the Mini Mall at 499 Ernston Road.

Her disappearance and death rocked this blue-collar community.

"She was here one day and gone the next," said Mary Jo Truchan, who attended high school with Noga.

Fliers with a photo of Nancy Noga who was killed in front of the Mini Mall on Ernston Road were handed out by firefighters in hopes of finding leads from drivers who may have seen something on Jan. 7, 1999, the night she disappeared.(Photo11: ~File)

No one knew what had happened. And after Noga's body was found, Truchan said terror ripped through the community.

"I just remember the pure panic in the atmosphere, especially with the girls. The girls were so terrified. No one was walking home at night by themselves," Truchan said. "There was a buddy system, people were scared."

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Jan. 7, 1999 day Noga was reported missing by her family. Her body was found Jan. 12, 1999 and in the years since, no one has ever been charged with her killing.

And despite the two-decades-long time gap, Noga's unsolved death remains on the minds of law enforcement and her friends. A reward of up to $1,000 is offered by Crime Stoppers of Middlesex County for information that leads to the arrest of a suspect in the case.

A solvable crime

“A close knit and well-respected community tragically lost a young life. Although this is a 20-year-old case, it is still an active investigation in which we have recently taken steps to attempt to identify and apprehend the murderer.” Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey said in a statement.

“At this point the trail has gone cold, but we hope someone will come forward and provide information that will lead to an arrest in the homicide of this 17-year-old Sayreville girl. Someone out there knows something that can help, and that person needs to do the right thing," Carey said.

Sayreville Police Chief John Zebrowski said Noga's murder remains an open and active investigation.

Her death is believed to be the result of a blow to the head from a blunt object. She was found wearing a purple Arizona jacket, a dark V-neck sweater, blue flare jeans, black and white platform sneakers and carrying a purple backpack.

"Not a week goes by without a discussion on this case and ways to bring it to a successful conclusion," said Zebrowski, who was one of the initial detectives on the case.

"We believe this to be a solvable crime and we're working to get it done," said Zebrowski adding a post reminding people about the murder will appear on the Sayreville Police Department's Facebook page to mark the anniversary.

Real friends never forget

Adrienne Didik Girard was a 16-year-old junior in high school at the time of Noga's disappearance and death.

"I didn't know Nancy well, but it was a truly sad time for those who did. I remember there were grief counselors available at school. I feel terrible for her family and friends," said Girard, now 36 and a resident of River Edge in Bergen County.

"Growing up in Sayreville, I had always felt safe, but I remember being scared to walk home one night the weekend after the murder, even though my neighborhood was miles from the crime scene. The next year I got a job at the Mini Mall, where Nancy's body had been found, and I'd often think about it if I left by myself after an evening shift and be extra vigilant about what was going on around me. To this day when people mention any cold case, I wonder what happened to Nancy. I hope that with people talking about it again 20 years later, some new information comes to light," she said.

Truchan, who rode the bus to school with Noga, is taking a proactive by launching a Facebook page "A cold night in January: What Happened to Nancy" in which she has asked others to share their stories and memories of Noga. She also has plans for a podcast about Noga and the unsolved cold case.

Truchan was in high school when Noga moved into her apartment complex, Skytop Gardens. Noga was a year ahead in school.

"We weren't close friends, we didn't run in the same circle but we rode the same bus together so sometimes we would sit together," said Truchan, a 37-year-old Freehold resident who works as an administrative assistant for an insurance adjuster firm, and has no media experience.

"I just remember her being so outgoing and such a nice girl. Just very friendly and also overly wanting to help people if somebody didn't have a seat or needed a pencil. Just such a nice girl," she said.

A flower cross memorial for Nancy Noga in the area where her body was found behind the Mini Mart Plaza, on Ernston Road in Sayerville.(Photo11: ~File)

When her body was found, Truchan recalls an announcement was made at school over the public address system.

Truchan said Noga body was found in an area near the complex where she lived. News vans were parked in the area, covering the murder.

"It was intense, it was crazy and then we didn't really hear anymore about it," she said.

She said the police came to her apartment door for a few years to see if residents in the complex remembered anything, but the answer was always the same; they didn't.

"Then they stopped coming and every year after that people just talked less and less about her," she said. "I just don't feel like she was remembered. More like what happened to her was remembered."

Nancy Noga and Liza Walter-Larregui when they were best friends living in Staten Island(Photo11: ~Courtesy of Liza Walter-Larregui)

Liza Walter-Larregui of Old Bridge also wants Noga to be remembered for the bubbly, fierce, fighter she was.

When Walter-Larregui was 11 to 14 years old and living in Staten Island, Noga was her best friend. She said Noga moved to Staten Island after living in North Carolina.

"She was my protector," said Walter-Larregui, who recalls the bullies in their neighborhood. "She took me under her wing. We became best friends overnight."

The two girls attended Intermediate School 34 in Staten Island and they lived in such close proximity that Walter-Larregui could see Noga's father's bedroom from her bedroom window.

She said Noga was a year older and after living in Staten Island for a while she told Walter-Larregui she would be moving to New Jersey.

"I was dumbstruck," Walter-Larregui said.

But the two continued to communicate through phone calls and letters.

"I think of her every day," said Walter-Larregui, adding she is especially reminded of her friend when she hears certain songs.

Walter-Larregui talks to Noga's sister Janice occasionally and through Facebook.

"It brings me comfort to have a little piece of Nancy," she said.

A podcast about Nancy

Truchan said she always thinks of Noga around this time of year, and Googles her name to see if there are any updates in the case.

"It's always the same," said Truchan who for while has been planning a podcast about Noga, especially after reading Walter-Larregui's story in the Huffington Post.

She and Walter-Larregui will co-host the podcast, which is still in development. Truchan said Noga's sister gave them the blessing to go forward with the project.

Truchan has completed her first phone interview for the podcast and she also plans to talk to four or five other people, including someone who worked at the pizzeria near the wooded area where Noga's body was found, two of Noga's close high school friends, and Noga's last customer at the Rag Shop the night she disappeared. She also hoping Noga's sister might be willing to participate.

She wonders if some people may know something that they don't realize is key to the case.

Truchan also is working on a trailer for the podcast showing the route Noga took the night she disappeared.

For Truchan, that route wasn't the most direct to an opening in the gate to the Skytop Gardens apartment complex, especially since Noga was expected home shortly after leaving work.

No deadline has been set for the podcast to be completed and released.

"I will be writing something for Monday for the anniversary," Truchan said about the Facebook page.

"It was just so shocking because she didn't have any enemies. It was so weird," she said, adding there was no reason for Noga to be targeted.

She said Noga was involved in the school chorus before dropping the after-school activity to work at the Rag Shop and Old Country Buffet. She said Noga had planned to enter the military after high school and later attend college.

"I know she was extremely smart," said Truchan who believes Noga was enrolled in advanced placement classes.

"She was always so outgoing. I loved seeing her in the hallway because she was always smiling," she said.

Truchan said she knows there is a lot of pain over Noga's death, especially for the people who were close to her.

"I don't want to drag anyone's trauma or pain up. I don't think I'm going to go out and solve this thing, that's not what this is about. It's about giving Nancy a voice," she said.

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"I want people to know who Nancy was," she said, adding she doesn't want Noga to just be known as the girl on the missing persons person. "I want her to have a voice. I want to make her alive in spirit."

And if anything were to pop up in people's mind, she hopes it might help bring closure to the case.

"I don't think it matters how long it takes for them to solve a case," Truchan said.

How you can help

Anyone with information on the 20-year-old cold case can provide it anonymously by calling 1-800-939-9600 or submitted online at www.middlesextips.com. Tips may also be sent by text messaging 274637 (CRIMES) with the keyword: “midtip” followed by the tip information.